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03 February 2011

British Sport Horse Stallion Shoppers Get An Eye Full...

Power Line - son of stallion Power Blade with Oliver Townend (Photo courtesy Kevin Sparrow)

This weekend’s British Bred Sport Horse (BBSH) Stallion Event at Hartpury College was a sellout, with standing room only at peak time.

Nearly 600 people went through the doors to view the annual event which has now become an established feature in the British sport horse calendar.

Licensed stallions from the smallest sports pony, the appealing Littledale Bright Star, to the tallest eventing and showjumping sire Jaguar Mail (who came over from France for the event, along with his owner, the legendary Bernard Le Courtois) thrilled the packed stands for eight hours.

Royaldik and Sarah Cohen (Photo courtesy Kevin Sparrow)

The eventers featured first during the afternoon, with established event horse sires such as Revolution (and son Sir Suave), Weston Justice, Royaldik, Grafenstolz and Up With The Lark mixing it with exciting up and coming sires like Wolkenderry presented by Alex Hua Tian and Clayton Fredericks’ Mr Big Cat. Power Blade, demonstrated to the full by his son Power Line and Oliver Townend, was followed by Chilli Morning, with rider Nick Gauntlett’s entertaining demo engaging the crowd from the moment he entered the ring.

Chilli Morning and Nick Gauntlett (Courtesy BBSH/Kevin Sparrow)

The showjumpers then took centre stage where two of Meadow Stud’s sires Vangelis and Cash Point delivered upon expectations, followed by the very promising Cendy. Crowd pleasers Retro Business and Balinmore Irish Rebel showed their best alongside ones to watch Quisto Van De Helle Z and Donder. Overseas visitors Kannan, Fetiche du Pas and Quite Easy were very welcome additions to this engaging section.

Feedback on the evening’s dressage section indicated that the audience rated many of the sires’ presentations very highly, and as the lights were dimmed and spotlights lit, Desert Moon, Treliver Decanter, the young Longton and Zamboucca delivered their performances. Woodlander Stud’s Santana, Wavavoom, Rockstar and his son Rhythm n Blues set the scene for an emotional performance from Emma Hindle and Wie Weltmeyer to celebrate his moving to the UK and embarking on his new career as a sire. The ever youthful Landtanzer and Ragazzo strutted their stuff in hand, showing that they haven’t lost one ounce of sparkle!